see the head of the magic dragon but not its tail

see the head of the magic dragon but not its tail

Shenlong Jianshou is a Chinese idiom. Its pinyin is sh é NL ó ngji à NSH à u, which means that poetry is full of ups and downs. It comes from the record of talking about the Dragon by Zhao Zhixin in Qing Dynasty.

The origin of Idioms

Zhao Zhixin's "on the dragon record" of the Qing Dynasty: "Fang was jealous of the lack of rules of the time and customs, and said:" poetry is like a dragon, and there are scales on the claws of the head and tail, none of which is a dragon. " Sikoshen said: "poetry is like a dragon. You can see its head but not its tail, or you can see only a claw and a scale in the clouds, and you can be satisfied with the whole."

Idiom usage

As an object or attribute; used in figurative sentences